Dear Confucius
by Kaesteranya
Summary: And so, one day, Naru asks “Why is it that you can afford to be such an aloof, arrogant bastard?” and somehow it becomes a matter of hating all Japanese people. Vaguely inspired by events in the A Forbidden Game arc eps 1417. Implied Lin x Naru.


**Dear Confucius.**

_Please note that this is just my take on how they met… I'm not familiar with the manga series, and the anime hasn't given us fans much to work on in terms of Naru and Lin's back story. This will have to do, I think. ;_

_Inspired by the 31 Days LJ community theme for September 12, 2005._

The Shibuyas had introduced Lin to their son, Naru only two years ago, the moment he had expressed interest in continuing the family's line of work but without the assistance of either parental figure. It was a calculated move, and not a boy's foolish attempt at breaking out of his father's shadow. Nevertheless, neither Naru's mother nor his teacher would not stand for him going out on the field alone — although he was a brilliant young man, he showed little aptitude for the spiritual arts, and would therefore be walking into haunted sites completely unprotected. That was where Lin came into the picture.

At first it was all about the money — the Shibuya were a cut above the rest of society (and could thus afford their sort of lifestyle, chasing the paranormal across the country) — and although he had his issues with Japanese superiority, Lin was professional enough to consider a job as a job. At the end of the day it didn't matter where the pay came from, as long as he was paid. Being one of the few practicing onmyouji for hire also meant that he didn't have to be nearly as nice as was usually required of a pseudo-assistant, pseudo-bodyguard.

The love had probably started with that simplistic concept that most people called "beauty". Everything Naru did and everything Naru was spelled perfection, and perfection for Lin was beauty. What the man truly loved about Naru only emerged after their very first argument.

"Why is it that you can afford to be such an aloof, arrogant bastard?"

Naru fielded the question to Lin a month of their first meeting; Lin had been unpacking the equipment and documents that the Shibuya Psychic Research Agency would be using in the years to come and now Naru was in the doorway, tossing a puzzle cube up and down.

"It can't be because of your height," the boy went on to say. "You're tall, but not impossibly tall." Lin turned from the scrutiny of those violet eyes and stacked another empty box in the corner.

"I hate Japanese people."

Naru's eyebrow went into orbit. Lin, oblivious, opened another box.

"Do you not know the history of what the Japanese did in China?"

"I know enough." Naru fiddled with the puzzle cube, undoing it in order to fix it again, in record time. Lin had seen him do it before. "It hardly concerns me though."

"Hmph." Lin turned and faced the boy, folding his arms across his chest. "I do not wish to associate with Japanese people who do not have the knowledge or awareness of such things, much less a Japanese boy who pretends that he has nothing to do with it."

Naru's other eyebrow went into orbit.

"Well, that's just stupid."

And with that, the boy turned and walked away. Lin was left to deal with his surprise for the next thirty seconds before the anger set in, but then even the anger faded before the day was over because he noticed Naru smirking at him. _Smirking_. As though things were going exactly as the boy had planned.

Suffice to say, it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

A recent run-in with Mai made Lin recall this moment, and once again the onmyouji was left to wonder if everything in his life with Naru — his confession, Naru's confession, the first time they had made love and all the kisses and quickies and blowjobs in between — had been somehow scripted. He wouldn't put it past the boy, who at seventeen could already outsmart his own parents. Nevertheless, he liked to believe that if there was one thing that _wasn't_ planned, it would have been the fact that Naru direly underestimated just how much pleasure Lin was capable of giving him in bed.


End file.
